Akyumen Investing in Producing Creative and Performing Arts

795 Days ago

LOS GATOS, CA--(Marketwired - January 13, 2016) - Akyumen Technologies Corp (Akyumen™) announces the launch and premiere of a major production for the stage that will take place in Las Vegas, NV with its first fully produced stage production. Akyumen has created this new platform for innovation and creativity.

The first major stage production being introduced is the already legendary stage hit, Dennis Nahat's BLUE SUEDE SHOES set to the music of ELVIS PRESLEY. This theatrical spectacle amalgamates multi-media stagecraft with dancers of great distinction from America's finest young performers and creative artists, classical ballet and pointe
dancing. The production integrates 55 performing artists and incorporates a system of five projectors with dynamic scenic changes throughout augmented with state-of-the-art moving lights. BLUE SUEDE SHOES is a collection of creative talent hailing from throughout the U.S.A. and is a celebration of the greatest American Icon Artists ever to perform on the stage.

Set to 29 of the original sound tracks of ELVIS PRESLEY, the 90 minute stage work covers the gamut of American life in the 1950s and 60s and is a tribute to the music of ELVIS, The King of Rock and Roll and the American Dream.

BOB MACKIE, American Iconic costume designer of ready-to-wear masterpieces in the design world, has created the costumes and scenery for BLUE SUEDE SHOES. There is simply nothing on the stage like the over 280 costumes in this production by Mackie.

WILLIAM ROSS, one of Hollywood's finest and most talented composers, has orchestrated and created addition music for BLUE SUEDE SHOES. The care in which the soundtrack for BLUE SUEDE SHOES was completed brings ELVIS to a new understanding and depth of sound. It is a revelation to even the most avid ELVIS fans.

KENNETH KEITH, Lighting Designer, has created a theatrical lighting experience that thrills the viewer and enhances the staging illuminating every detail of the artists on stage and the extraordinary Mackie designs. Keith has worked with the major creative artist on the stage from all corners of the theatre. It is at once lighting that is as brilliant as it gets.

DENNIS NAHAT, Conceived, Choreographed and directs this production. A 50-year veteran of the stage, Nahat has created over 109 stage works for the stage from film, to ballet, from Broadway Musicals to TV. Nahat created BLUE SUEDE SHOES in 1996 and it was filmed for Public Television (PBS) where it was presented throughout the United States. It played to sold-out houses and broke box office records. It launched a new era in the dance scene across the United States and is compared to what WEST SIDE STORY did for Broadway. There has been nothing to compare to this presentation. Nahat attributes his creative energies in this work to the music of ELVIS, his childhood idol.

PRODUCERS AND NEW COLLABORATIONS - In 2015, Dennis Nahat was introduced to Aasim Saied, CEO and Founder of Akyumen. Through a creative arrangement designed by Saied and Nahat, Nahat was invited to create its programs for entertainment not only for the stage but also for the world's first Convertible Projector Tablet, FALCON. Akyumen Headquarters in Los Gatos, California will begin creative collaborations with major artists worldwide. Collaborations with some of the world's greatest stage innovators with Nahat span over four decades. Nahat has devoted a better part of his career nurturing collaborations worldwide and BLUE SUEDE SHOES is the freshest of ventures that consummates cooperation among many artists and stage craftsmen. BLUE SUEDE SHOES is being presented in affiliation with Theatre Ventures International, a non-profit company promoting arts and will provide scholarships for students around the world. This is the first-of-its-kind to offer exchange scholarships to deserving students in the arts and crafts, high-tech, science and medicine.

About BLUE SUEDE SHOES - It opens in America during the '50s, the age of innocence. The story mirrors the birth of rock 'n' roll through several incidents in Elvis Presley's life. Though he never appears on stage, Elvis's spirit is felt throughout the seven scenes. After the overture, we meet three buddies (Arthur, Johnny, and Raymond) wearing their blue suede shoes at the local high school. Arthur tries unsuccessfully to woo Sally, even offering her a teddy bear. The setting changes to the bustling social scene at the Hot Dog Drive-in. Following graduation, the boys attend a farewell party before being inducted into the army. Johnny and Arthur have their families to wish them off, but Raymond is alone.

Once stationed in Germany, the boys are separated. Johnny loses his girlfriend while away, Arthur's mother passes away, and Raymond searches for friendship but is still very much alone. Returning home after a difficult and lonely winter, the boys go unrecognized. They find that drugs have changed life dramatically, the death of a parent and the passage of time. They each decide to take control of their lives and move on toward the future. In doing so, they are reunited and set out to have a celebration at the local nightclub. At the disco, Arthur rediscovers Sally. In trying to win her affections, Arthur starts a fight with her boyfriend, the neighborhood pimp who owns the club. The boys are arrested and end up in jail. Once released from jail, all of the characters from their lives return to join the Gold Record Finale. This is the start of reaching for the American Dream, where everyone finds fame and fortune. In the end our boys return in triumph, dressed in solid gold and their Blue Suede Shoes.

Why the Music of ELVIS? - "To my astonishment, I've been asked repeatedly, 'Why the music of Elvis?' I said to myself, 'Why am I being asked this question so often?' Now I realize even more how important it was for me to tackle this long-time dream of making a ballet, musical, theatrical fantasy a reality.

"I'm not the first to say that Elvis Presley is the 20th century's most significant entertainer, movie star, cult figure, and more importantly, pop singer the world has ever known. I believe that the popular phrase, 'The American Dream' took on a new and truer meaning with the emergence of Elvis. In 1955, when we first heard his music, it was as if a sledgehammer had come down on the heads of all Americans. We had a wake up call -- so did the rest of the world.

"While growing up in Detroit, in early 1955, the first song I ever heard of Elvis' was You're a Heartbreaker. It was on the car radio as I was being driven to church for altar boy practice on Wednesday night by a young woman. She was so excited we almost had an accident during the broadcast of his song. Being so young, I didn't understand what all the noise was about. However, because I was around so many musically oriented people, and studied dance at the Ricardeau Dance Studio where music of all kinds rang out from every studio, I got swallowed up in the pop culture of Elvis and all that was to come.

"I used to take a bus on Woodward Avenue to and from the dance school almost daily, past the famous Fox Theater, which I had never entered. Once, for a week, I could see on the marquee a name in big letters, ELVIS PRESLEY and lines of people forming daily outside for tickets. One night after dance classes, I got off the bus in front of the Fox Theater and wanted to go inside like everyone else. Being a kid and alone, I said with a frantic voice to the man at the door, 'My mom is inside and I gotta get in!' Amidst all the excitement, and to my amazement, he let me in. I stood at the back of the theater on a side aisle, and to this day I do not remember what I heard -- but I do remember what I saw. A gyrating body, twisting legs and a voice I'd never heard before was coming out of loud speakers in this large theater of screaming people. I was afraid and at the same time excited -- I started screaming too -- I didn't know why. I do now. It was that earthquake of a performer on the Fox Theater stage... an experience I can clearly remember to this day. In September of 1956, the same year I had seen Elvis live, he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Who didn't see him that night? My sister and I were stuck to the TV screen. We all tried to dance like him, sing like him, dress like him, talk like him. Our elders were so afraid for us, but we were only youths who had become alive with excitement and were having a good time. We saw Elvis as one of us, just a decent guy with a message, a message we could understand: Freedom. Isn't that what America stood for? We didn't think about whether he was talented or not, that was beside the point. Still today, almost 40 years later, I listen to his music and find the true genius of his talent. Oh yes, there were other fine talents on the charts then, but when it comes to vocal clarity, range, delivery, and believability, as in his song Anyway You Want Me, it's Elvis, like no one before or since.

"Why the music of Elvis? You're a director of a classical ballet company. You choreograph the classics. Yeah baby, Elvis is classic…" Dennis Nahat

Akyumen Technologies Corp (Akyumen)

Akyumen Technologies Corp is a privately held US company and operates globally. Akyumen designs, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative electronic and mobile technology products to consumers worldwide. The company values the social responsibility of providing open access to tools and information to enhance the human experience globally. Akyumen is positioned to launch its devices in niche markets globally in 2016.